10/3/13 – Update! Fellow Sub It Club administrator Heather Ayris Burnell pointed out a contest (or pitchfest) I missed. – It’s only open for a few more days, so be sure to check it out!

To help you keep track of the available writing contest opportunities, we’ll post a list each month of the upcoming contests we’ve heard about. (If you have an upcoming writing contest that you’d like included on the list, please contact Veronica with the details.) We also have a Writing Contests Pinterest board and a NEW Art and Illustration Contests Pinterest board, which we try to keep updated on all the contests we hear about, as long as the contest information is pinnable. (Check frequently, as some agents post writing contests on the spur of the moment with a 24-48 hour entry period, and you never know when such an opportunity might pop up.)

Please remember, not all contests are right for all people. Some of these contests have an entry fee, while others do not. Some are judged by professional authors/illustrators, agents or editors, while others are smaller contests run by bloggers. I’ve tried to include as many contests as I can find, to give you a wide range of choices, but inclusion on this list does not necessarily constitute endorsement of the contest by Sub It Club. Make sure to do your own research on each contest before deciding whether or not to throw your entry into the ring! (Please read all rules before entering any contest!)

Also, it goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway): DO NOT enter ANY contests unless your manuscript is fully finished and query-ready. If the agent requests a full manuscript, and you don’t have one to send, it’s disappointing for both of you.

September 2013:

9/30: Lee and Low New Voices Award: Award will be given for a children’s picture book manuscript by a writer of color. The Award winner receives a cash prize of $1000 and a standard publication contract. An Honor Award winner will receive a cash prize of $500. Manuscripts should be no more than 1500 words, and must be postmarked no later than 30 September 2013. Contest is open to unagented writers of color who have never had a picture book published.

9/30: Miss Snark’s First Victim Baker’s Dozen Logline Critiques #1 – To prepare for the upcoming Baker’s Dozen Auction, Authoress is holding a series of logline critique opportunities. The submission window for round one will be open from 9 am to 5 pm EDT on Monday, September 30. This is a lottery, which means the bot will randomly choose 40 entries at the close of the window. These entries will post on Tuesday, October 1, for critique. If you’re one of the lucky 40, please don’t forget to offer feedback for others as well! (This is not a part of the Auction itself, and participation does not guarantee you a slot in the upcoming contest. This is an opportunity to get valuable feedback to prepare your entry.)

October 2013:

10/1: Operation Awesome October Mystery Agent Contest – Instead of one line pitches, this month’s Mystery Agent wants to see the first 250 words of your manuscript! The contest will go live at 10am Eastern time, and they will be accepting the first 30 qualified entries. Agent is looking for: Upper Middle Grade, Young Adult, New Adult, Commercial Fiction, Memoir, Narrative Non-fiction, Historical Fiction

New Addition to the List!! 10/1-10/5: Jill Corcoran’s YA Romance Pitchfest! – She’s looking for an authentic teen voice, cinematic plotting, and unforgettable characters. Ms. Corcoran will respond to all entries, so this is a great opportunity! Please make sure to read the pitchfest guidelines and rules before you enter!

10/1-12/31: Dark Crystal Author Quest Contest: This isn’t so much a contest as it is an open audition to try out for the Work-for-Hire Dark Crystal prequel novel. Send in 7,500-10,000 words that represent the story you would tell in a full-length Dark Crystal novel. It can either be the first chapters, final chapters, a collection of middle chapters, or a short piece that would form the inspiration for a novel-length story.

10/14: Miss Snark’s First Victim Baker’s Dozen Logline Critiques #2 – To prepare for the upcoming Baker’s Dozen Auction, Authoress is holding a series of logline critique opportunities. The submission window for round one will be open from 9 am to 5 pm EDT on Monday, October 14. This is a lottery, which means the bot will randomly choose 40 entries at the close of the window. These entries will post on Tuesday, October 15, for critique. If you’re one of the lucky 40, please don’t forget to offer feedback for others as well! (This is not a part of the Auction itself, and participation does not guarantee you a slot in the upcoming contest. This is an opportunity to get valuable feedback to prepare your entry.)

10/15: Save the Frogs! Art Contest: SAVE THE FROGS! Nonprofit Organization has announced its international Frog Art Contest. The goal of the contest is to raise awareness of the mass extinction of amphibians that is currently taking place worldwide. There are cash prizes and the best art will be used on eco-friendly SAVE THE FROGS! merchandise and in books to raise funds for their amphibian conservation efforts. Contest open to artists of all ages and skill levels in 4 categories (under 10, 10-13 years old, 14-17 years old, and 18+) Art may be hand-drawn or digitally produced.

10/15: Save the Frogs! Poetry Contest – SAVE THE FROGS! Nonprofit Organization has announced the international Frog Poetry contest, with prizes including the chance to have your poems published in a book they will sell to raise funds for their amphibian conservation projects. The goal of the competition is to raise awareness of the mass extinction of amphibians that is currently taking place worldwide. Contest open to poets of all ages.

10/19: Nightmare on Query Street – Don’t have a scary manuscript, DON’T WORRY. This contest is about fear. What is your main character really afraid of? To enter, you must be following all three host blogs: Michelle, Mike, and SC. You’ll submit your query and 1st 250 words, along with a short paragraph describing your main character’s greatest fear. The submission window opens at 12 noon (EST) on October 19th. The window will close at 8pm or when they receive 100 entries, so don’t hesitate! Contest open to MG, YA, NA and Adult entries.

10/21: Miss Snark’s First Victim Baker’s Dozen Logline Critiques #3 – To prepare for the upcoming Baker’s Dozen Auction, Authoress is holding a series of logline critique opportunities. The submission window for round one will be open from 9 am to 5 pm EDT on Monday, October 21. This is a lottery, which means the bot will randomly choose 40 entries at the close of the window. These entries will post on Tuesday, October 22, for critique. If you’re one of the lucky 40, please don’t forget to offer feedback for others as well! (This is not a part of the Auction itself, and participation does not guarantee you a slot in the upcoming contest. This is an opportunity to get valuable feedback to prepare your entry.)

10/22: Trick or Treat with Agents – Submissions open at 9am until 9pm Eastern time. All entries during that 12-hour window will be accepted, and then each of the three tour hosts (Kimberly Chase, Brenda Drake and Dannie Morin) will pick their top 13 entries. Costumed agents will hop from blog to blog, trick-or-treating for tasty treats (your pitches). Entries must include a 3-sentence pitch, first 250 words of your MS and answers to the two entry questions. Contest is open to MG,YA, NA, and Adult. (No Erotica or Memoirs)

10/29 and 10/31: Miss Snark’s First Victim Baker’s Dozen Submissions (Adult mss – no erotica) – The Baker’s Dozen Agent Auction is MSFV’s biggest event of the year. 60 250-word entries, hand-picked by Jodi Meadows and Authoress, will be placed on the auction block for agents to bid on (with requests for pages, up to a full manuscript request). It bears the name “Baker’s Dozen” because the original auction in 2010 included 13 agents–a baker’s dozen. $10 entry fee for this contest

November 2013:

11/5 and 11/7: Miss Snark’s First Victim Baker’s Dozen Submissions (YA and MG fiction – all genres) – The Baker’s Dozen Agent Auction is MSFV’s biggest event of the year. 60 250-word entries, hand-picked by Jodi Meadows and Authoress, will be placed on the auction block for agents to bid on (with requests for pages, up to a full manuscript request). It bears the name “Baker’s Dozen” because the original auction in 2010 included 13 agents–a baker’s dozen. $10 entry fee for this contest

11/15: Writer’s Digest Short Story Competition – Open for short stories of 1,500 words or less (all genres). – $20 entry fee per manuscript for this contest

11/20: Pitch Wars (hosted by Brenda Drake) Mentors’ Bios will be Posted!! – In Pitch Wars, agented and/or published authors, industry interns, and editors team up with unagented authors to shine up their manuscripts and pitches to present to some awesome agents. The mentors will each pick ONE writer to work with on their FULL manuscript. Writers can submit applications to 3 Mentors, so make sure to look at all of the mentor bios and choose wisely!

1/31/14: International Illustrated Silent Book Contest – For illustrators only! The 2014 SILENT BOOK CONTEST will give prize money and publication to an original illustrated and unpublished book project that has been created and produced exclusively through narration by illustrated images. The winner will receive a cash prize and publishing contract for their book.

*A big THANK YOU to Meredith’s Musings for your awesome “Contest Circuit” page, which got me thinking about adding this page to the Sub It Club blog in the first place! ❤

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Published by Veronica Bartles

Veronica Bartles is a writer of children's books, from picture books to YA contemporary... anything with a happily-ever-after ending and an emphasis on finding beauty hidden in unlikely places. Her debut YA novel, TWELVE STEPS, was published by Swoon Romance 25 March 2014, and her debut picture book, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROGS, is coming Fall 2016 from Balzer & Bray / Harper Collins.
View all posts by Veronica Bartles